Have you ever seen your credit file?
According to the most recent estimates from credit reporting agency illion (formerly Dun & Bradstreet), 9 out of 10 Australians haven’t! In addition, the Australian Retail Credit Association found that 6 out of 10 haven’t even heard of credit reporting.
What’s in your credit file?
Well, you can expect to find your full name, date of birth, address, and your last known employer. It also contains your repayment history for every debt you’ve had from the last two years as well as any history of bankruptcy, credit defaults, court judgments or writs.
They even have a record of every time you’ve applied for a loan! What it means is that anyone who sees your credit file knows almost everything about you. A bit creepy when you think about it.
More importantly though, it’s a key indicator of whether or not your home loan application will be approved.
If the lender doesn’t like what they see, your application might get declined. On the other hand, if you’ve been making payments on time and have no defaults or black marks on your credit file then it can act in your favour when it comes time to applying for a loan.
You can learn more about how credit enquiries can affect the likelihood of your loan getting approved with this infographic.
A good mortgage broker can still get your loan approved if you have a few black marks on your credit file. It’s just a matter of choosing the right lender.
Don’t have a broker? Speak to us.
We know lenders that specialise in helping borrowers who have fallen on hard times in the past but are now properly managing their finances.
Call us today on 1300 889 743 for a free, no obligation assessment of your situation or complete our free assessment form. Discover why we’re the experts in getting tough loans approved!